Twenty years ago last month, “HAIR” brought the Age of
Aquarius to Broadway and the American musical theater was never quite the
same.

The show, with its contemporary sound and freewheeling,
almost non-existent book, ran for more than 1,700 performances, spawning
countless touring and foreign companies as well as a successful movie.
Now it is back in New York for one night only, this time in a unique concert
version at the United Nations that will be a benefit for children with
AIDS.

The concert to be held May 26, 1988 at the UN General
Assembly Hall will reunite the musical’s creators – James Rado, Jerome
Ragni and Galt MacDermot – as well as many performers who appeared in various
companies of “HAIR” or the film version. The “Hair” alumni include
Melba Moore, Paul Jabara, Heather MacRae, Treat Williams, Nell Carter,
Andre DeShields and Donna Summer. Among other performers scheduled
to appear are Bea Arthur, Frank Stallone, Jay Leno, Rex Smith and Chuck
Mangione as well as a large cast of young, unknown singers.

“After 20 years, the anniversary came up and we said,
“What are we going to do with it?” Ragni said the other day. “People
told us to do a big reunion of “HAIR” kids and make it just a “HAIR” celebration.
We didn’t want to do that. In a way, “HAIR” was always used as a
rallying point.”

They found a rallying point in the plight of children
with AIDS and the money raised from the concert - ticket prices are
scaled from $250 to $5000 - will go to the United States Committee for
UNICEF and the Creo Society’s Fund for Children with AIDS.

“HAIR” was the most influential of the rock musicals that
hit Broadway and Off-Broadway during the late 1960’s and the early 70’s.
More than any other rock musical, it integrated the pop music sound of
the day into the Broadway musical.

Tim Rice, lyricist for such “HAIR”-inspired musicals as
“Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita,” calls it “one of the best Broadway
scores ever written.”“HAIR” was also one of the most popular. It spawned
four top four singles on the American pop record charts. Each was sung
by a different artist. Incredibly, one song got to the number 1 spot,
“Aquarius,” by the Fifth Dimension; another to number 2, “HAIR” by the
Cowsills: a third to number 3, “Good Morning Starshine,” by Oliver; and
fourth to number 4, “Easy to be Hard,” by Three Dog Night.

The musical first opened in New York Off-Broadway in October
of 1967 at the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. The
following April it was remounted, recast and redirected and moved to Broadway’s
Biltmore Theater.

Rado and Ragni were in the cast. Rado played a young man
named Claude who was about to be drafted and spends his remaining free
hours with a tribe of first-spirited individuals on the outskirts of conventional
society.

When the show is done today – it still has revivals around
the country – it’s done as a period piece, Rado says.

“There is nothing from that era that really showed what
went on with the hippie movement, what that time was about,” Ragni said.
“It touched on the anti-war movement, racism, the ecology movement and
a lot of other things. All this was going on at the same time.”

The title of the concert is “HAIR”…For the Next Generation,”
and for the show, the trio has composed 18 new songs including several
with such titles as “Plant Love,” “Ozone,” and “Sweet American” that sound
like they will fit right into the show. Twelve of the new numbers
will be used in the concert as well as most of the original songs.

“We thought, ‘What would “HAIR” be like now?’ So
we wrote those kinds of songs,” said Ragni. “What’s the difference
between now and then?”

The children of today are ready to embrace this show again,
its creators say, and the concert may be the first step toward a new edition
of the show that may play the West Coast and work its way east.

“There is such a revival of the ‘60’s going on right now,
“Ragni said. “What was that era about? a lot of them are asking.”

“These kids are wondering what their parents were like
or what the kids in those days were like,” said Rado. “This show
still gives them a good idea.”